MATHEWS HAS SURGERY ON CLAVICLE

Injury presents first test of Chargers’ effort to add free-agent depth at running back

Ryan Mathews’ broken clavicle is expected to sideline him four to six weeks.

A return on the early side, an orthopedic surgeon said Friday, would be highly irregular.

Mathews injured his shoulder on his first carry of the first quarter of the Chargers’ first preseason game Thursday night. He was in surgery early Friday afternoon while coach Norv Turner addressed media at Chargers Park.

Turner reiterated the timetable, first presented Thursday after the game.

A four-week return would position Mathews to be on the field for the Chargers’ Sept. 10 season opener against the Raiders.

Dr. Daniel Kharrazi, an orthopedic surgeon at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, has his doubts. Team sources also conceded Friday that Mathews is likely to miss the start of the season.

“Frankly, I don’t think most people would release him before six weeks,” said Kharrazi, who hasn’t worked with Mathews and is unfamiliar with the specifics of his injury. “The healing time is four to six weeks. So, especially in a professional athlete, I think you’re going to take the extra step to make sure it’s 100 percent healed because you don’t want it to get hit on, and if it’s not properly healed, he can reinjure the shoulder. ...

“Obviously, athletes are really good at rehab, but I’ve never seen someone come back on the field following surgery from a clavicular fracture in four weeks. I think the earliest, earliest by far would be six weeks, if not a little bit longer than that.”

Surgery is standard for athletes with the injury, as it dramatically accelerates recovery time.

A typical procedure places a plate over the fracture with screw fixation, said Kharrazi, who has been in orthopedics since 1992 and worked as a shoulder specialist for about 15 years.

He said Mathews will take pain medication over the next few days and likely keep the shoulder immobilized in a sling over the next few weeks. X-rays will be taken intermittently to track the bone’s progress, deciding when Mathews can begin strengthening exercises.

In time, he can overcome muscle atrophy and be ready to hit the field without further complication.

“Just count for more toward six weeks than four,” Kharrazi said.

In the interim, the Chargers have no plans to add depth at running back.

The way they see it, they already have.

Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith said Friday the team will stand pat with the backup options in place.

“We made a concerted effort to add quality, proven veteran players at many positions,” Smith said. “There’s a reason why (Le’Ron) McClain, (Ronnie) Brown and (Jackie) Battle were added. Curtis Brinkley is a talented kid, and that’s why he’s been in our program for three years.

“It’s ‘next man up’ time. We are about to see how well we did with our offseason running back choices. Coach Turner will sort it all out in the next three games.”

Turner has been highly complimentary of Brown during training camp.

On Friday, he called him a “complete back.”

Brown could see the bulk of touches as the Chargers mix in McClain in certain situations, including short yardage.

But, as Smith alluded, all that will be ironed out over the course of the preseason.

“I like our backs,” Turner said. “I like the guys we have here, and I’m excited about them and what they’ve been doing. We’ll just get ready to go with the guys we have until Ryan is ready. ... Ryan will come back healthy. He’s on his way to having a great season, and I don’t think this will detour that.”

The Chargers identified depth as a contributing factor to their current two-year playoff drought.

So, they addressed it.

Smith was active in free agency, picking from what he labeled the deepest group of free agency options in NFL history. The Chargers entered training camp with 20 veterans signed since March, 16 of which were not on the roster last year.

At running back, along with signing Brown, Battle and versatile fullback McClain, the team took Edwin Baker in the seventh round and signed undrafted rookie Michael Hayes, adding them all to Mathews, Brinkley and fullback Jacob Hester.

If Mathews indeed misses the start of the season, his absence could mark the first true test of the Chargers’ depth.

“Some air came out of the balloon (Thursday) night, for sure,” Smith said. “But it’s full today. It’s disappointing for us to have to start the season without Ryan. But disappointment lurks around every corner in the NFL. You don’t ever dwell on it. You deal with it right now.”

Nuts ’n’ Bolts

Turner said he is excited about how much more active and athletic the defensive front looked in the first preseason game. “If you were paying attention to that,” he said, “I think it was pretty obvious that that’s going to be a big upgrade for us.”

• The Chargers have two remaining practices open to the public, today and Sunday from 3:45 to 6 p.m. at Chargers Park.

• No injury update was provided on safety Darrell Stuckey, who suffered a stinger Thursday. His availability for today’s practice is not known.